Dear Fellow Researchers of Whatever Gender, Life Style, and/or Persuasion: Captain James Keith BOSWELL, a distant cousin and member of General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's staff was killed at the Battle of Chancellorsville in the same volley of friendly fire that mortally wounded General Jackson on May 2, 1863. (Captain Boswell is buried in the Confederate Cemetery, Fredericksburg, Virginia--Section 12 Row 7.) I know that what I am about to ask puts a great deal of strain on the niceties of genealogical civility, but...since we're all involved in Civil War research in one way or another, I figure...what the devil, "nothing ventured; nothing gained." You know, the same sort of devil-may-care attitude that drove my ancestors to fire on Fort Sumter. ("How's that for chilins, Yank?") As fate, and a smorgasbord of grotesquely distorted genes would have it, I am legally blind and cannot read from printed text (or microfilm). As a result, like Blanche DuBois, another faded Dixie flower, I have become accustomed to depending "on the kindness of strangers". At the present time, I am asking for all the help I can get in putting together a bibliography and/or collection of notes on my unfortunate, but brilliant and heroic cousin James. Naturally, any help I receive concerning Captain Boswell will be very greatly appreciated. (Also, FYI: The information I am putting together is not intended for publication, but merely as a much needed addition to the Boswell Family Database of Legendary Heroes--which, sad to say, is currently quite empty. Unlike cousin James, I have discovered that to most members of the Boswell Persuasion, any thought of war--or even heated debate, usually results in a bad case of the vapors.) Also, I understand that the Keith Family Papers, 1831-1916 are on file in the Virginia Civil War Archives (46 items. Mss1K2694b. Microfilm reel C599). These papers contain two letters written by James Keith Boswell: (1) an 1862 letter from JAMES KEITH BOSWELL (1838-1863) to his cousin, James Keith, describing the battle of Fredericksburg; (2) and a letter dated 1861, from Boswell to his aunt, Juliet Keith, in which he expresses his hope that Virginia will secede from the Union (section 3. I am wondering if it is possible to order copies of these two letters from the Virginia Archives by mail. If anyone has knowledge concerning the Archives, I would greatly appreciate your sharing that knowledge with me. Thank you for your time, Walt Boswell hogdu26@knology.net Montgomery "The Cradle of the Confederacy" Alabama